Transparency Report: Government Requests for Data

Overview

In this report, Uber is sharing an overview of information that was provided to federal and state regulators and law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada between January and December 2018.

Regulatory reporting requirements

Uber connects riders and drivers in a highly regulated transportation sector. Regulatory agencies like the California Public Utilities Commission oversee offline services like electricity, construction, and taxis in addition to Uber trips. They are empowered by law to require ridesharing companies to report information about their operations. These agencies may request information about trips, trip requests, pickup and dropoff areas, fares, vehicles, and drivers in their jurisdictions for a given time period. There is a risk that information like pickup and dropoff locations may allow government agencies—or anyone else who obtains this information—to identify individual riders by associating it with publicly available records. That is why we’ve specified the total number of drivers and riders whose trip details have been reported below.

In some cases, reporting requirements for online companies may differ from or exceed what regulators demand from offline companies. And in other cases, online companies are requested to produce different types of information—like an electronic trip receipt with a trip route instead of a paper log. Both occur because regulators assume that technology companies maintain and therefore should provide these records.

The tables below show how many riders and drivers were affected by regulatory reporting requirements for our ridesharing business in the US and Canada during the 2018 calendar year.

Regulatory requests

United States

City/state

California

Delaware

Florida

Honolulu, HI

Bloomington, IL

Chicago, IL

Kentucky

New Orleans, LA

Maryland

Massachusetts

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Mexico

New York City, NY

Bend, OR

Portland, OR

Redmond, OR

Philadelphia, PA

Rhode Island

Burlington, VT

Kennewick, WA

Seattle, WA

Tacoma, WA

Yakima, WA

Washington, DC

Riders affected

15,589,000

0

0

0

0

5,590,000

0

0

0

0

10

1,000

0

0

9,643,000

0

936,000

<50

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2,294,000

Drivers affected

315,000

50

400

<50

1,000

133,000

19,000

19,000

92,000

179,000

<50

50

75,000

2,000

106,000

<50

19,000

0

500

22,000

50

<50

23,000

14,000

<50

<50

Values reported have been rounded.

Canada

City/province

Calgary, AB

Barrie, ON

Brampton, ON

Guelph, ON

Hamilton, ON

London, ON

Mississauga, ON

Niagara, ON

Oakville, ON

Ottawa, ON

Toronto, ON

Vaughan, ON

Waterloo, ON

Quebec

Riders affected

0

0

0

0

47,000

0

1,275,000

0

0

540,000

0

0

0

0

Drivers affected

4,000

1,000

21,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

19,000

2,000

62,000

5,500

75,000

19,000

4,000

11,000

Values reported have been rounded.

View regulatory data productions for previous years

H2 2017

H1 2017

H2 2016

Airport reporting requirements

Separate from state and local regulatory agencies, airport authorities have the ability to regulate transportation services within and around airports. In order to operate at airports, ridesharing companies and other similar services are required to enter into agreements created and enforced by each airport authority. These agreements vary by airport and require ridesharing companies to report information such as monthly trip volumes; when vehicles enter and exit the airport area; where vehicles pick up and drop off within the airport area; and/or each vehicle’s registration information, license plate, and driver.

The tables below show the number of riders and drivers affected by airport reporting requirements for our ridesharing business in the US.

Airport requests

United States airports (A-M)

Airport code

AGS

ALB

ATL

AUS

AVL

BLI

BNA

BOS

BUF

BUR

BWI

CHA

CHS

CLT

COS

CVG

DCA

DFW

DLH

DTW

EUG

FLL

GEG

GSO

HKS

HND

IAD

IAG

JAN

JAX

LAS

LAX

LGB

MCO

MDT

MEM

MIA

MRY

MSP

Riders affected

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Drivers affected

2,000

600

75,000

23,000

1,000

600

13,000

70,000

6,000

69,000

128,000

2,000

5,000

21,000

4,000

11,000

60,000

50,000

400

18,000

100

82,000

2,000

5,000

100

5,000

53,000

1,000

900

11,000

37,000

100,000

54,000

55,000

3,000

7,000

44,000

2,000

17,000

Values reported have been rounded.

United States airports (N-Z)

Airport code

NLV

OAK

ONT

ORF

PDX

PHX

PIT

PSP

RDU

RNO

ROA

RSW

SAN

SAV

SBP

SEA

SFB

SFO

SJC

SLC

SMF

SMX

SNA

SYR

TPA

TUS

XNA

Riders affected

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Drivers affected

9,000

64,000

30,000

11,000

16,000

37,000

9,000

7,000

17,000

4,000

1,000

9,000

32,000

3,000

1,000

29,000

15,000

91,000

60,000

11,000

16,000

500

57,000

2,000

34,000

5,000

2,000

Values reported have been rounded.

View airport data productions for previous years

2017

H2 2016

Law enforcement requests

Uber receives requests from law enforcement agencies in both the United States and abroad who seek information about our users relating to criminal law enforcement investigations. We have a legal obligation to respond to valid government requests for user data. Our dedicated team of experts, who are trained to manage these requests, ensures that any disclosure of information is consistent with our internal policies and applicable law. To learn more about our process and requirements for responding to law enforcement requests in the US, see Uber's Guidelines for Law Enforcement Authorities - United States. For the rest of the world, see Uber's Guidelines for Law Enforcement Authorities - Outside the US.

Uber Technologies Inc. offers many products and services, including ridesharing, Uber Eats, JUMP, and Uber for Business. The tables below represent law enforcement data requests for these 4 products and services.

The US statistics below show how many law enforcement requests we received from state and federal authorities, the type of legal process the authorities received, the number of users affected by these requests, and how often we’ve responded with relevant information. The Canada statistics below show how many requests we received through legal or emergency process, the number of users affected by these requests, and how often we’ve responded with relevant information.

Law enforcement requests for user accounts

United States

User accounts requested

21,913

% requests where some data was produced¹

72%

Compliance

Fully complied

Partially complied

Withdrawn/no data found

47%

25%

28%

¹Some requests affect more than one user account.

Law enforcement requests from state and federal agencies

United States

Government requests

State

Federal

Total requests

3,192

633

Requests withdrawn/no data found

910

172

User accounts produced

6,185

10,161

% requests where some data was produced¹

71%

73%

¹Some requests affect more than one user account.

Law enforcement requests by process

United States

Process received¹

Subpoena

Emergency

Search warrant

Court order

Total requests

2,106

972

629

118

User accounts requested

17,126

1,702

2,667

418

% requests where some data was produced²

73%

61%

84%

66%

¹As of this reporting period, Uber has not received a national security request.²Some requests affect more than one user account.

Law enforcement requests by process

Canada

Process received

Legal process

Emergency

Total requests

63

98

User accounts requested

456

137

% requests where some data was produced¹

90%

62%

¹Some requests affect more than one user account.

View law enforcement requests for previous years

H2 2017

H1 2017

H2 2016

H1 2016

FAQ

Ridesharing companies have long been required to provide regulators with information about our business operations, but few provide public transparency about these requirements. By publishing this report, we hope to give consumers more visibility into how their data is shared between companies and government agencies and enable them to consider the type and scope of data that regulators have access to. Uber’s transparency report was the first of its kind to address ridesharing services and gives an overview of what we provide to government agencies in the US and Canada.

Currently, this report covers data we are compelled to share with regulators, airports, and law enforcement agencies for different parts of our business in the US and Canada. This report is not an exhaustive overview; for example, it does not cover the location data that local jurisdictions compel us to share about trips taken with our bikes and scooters. However, we’re committed to expanding the report in the future to cover our growing set of transportation options and adequately reflect the ever-growing and complex reporting requirements we’re subject to as a regulated global business.

When regulatory agencies ask for more information than is necessary to fulfill their obligations—or information that is commercially or personally sensitive—we seek to narrow our response. This may involve negotiations with the regulatory agency, and in some cases it has required defending ourselves in legal proceedings before the agency or in court.

Not always. But we do ask for this information to ensure that data requests are limited to legitimate regulatory purposes.

We have attempted to limit agencies from disclosing commercially or personally sensitive information. But agencies may disregard our requests and complaints, collecting and exposing far more data than necessary to fulfill their obligations. For instance, this data can be exposed when regulatory agencies receive Freedom of Information requests and respond by producing data we shared with them. In addition, agencies occasionally inadvertently disclose confidential information in their possession.

Only in some cases. Taxis are not always bound by the same agencies or regulations as other regulated transportation companies. Depending on the location, the authorities and rules that apply to each type of company may vary.

State and local regulators have very different objectives from airport authorities. State and local regulators, like public utility commissions, are responsible for ensuring that regulated transportation companies operate in accordance with the applicable regulations, including those governing safety. Airport authorities often defer to state and/or local regulations but may require additional data requirements that allow them to track and count the number of vehicles on their property.

Ridesharing companies must agree to airport rules as part of the permitting process. Each airport authority independently determines what information is required to report to them.

Yes, some ask to have information broken out by product type or the regulatory framework each vehicle is operating under.

Yes. The information airports request and receive from taxis, limousines, and livery providers is generally consistent with what is disclosed in this report.

Airport authorities don’t tell us what they do with the information we provide.

During a criminal investigation, law enforcement agencies may ask us for information about user(s) that’s relevant to the investigation. Our dedicated team of experts, who are trained to manage these requests, work to ensure that any information we disclose is consistent with our policies and applicable law.

Uber is committed to protecting the privacy and security of our users’ data. With limited exceptions like emergencies, we require a valid and sufficient legal process from official government agencies before we disclose any information about our users. When we receive a request from law enforcement, we review it to ensure that it satisfies legal requirements and narrowly tailor it to a legitimate law enforcement need; we object to overly broad, vague, or unreasonable requests.